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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1938
BLACKBOARD LESSON
is able to do with almost nothing. A care ful reading of the entire account shows that Gideon, considered in his natural state, was not a very admirable figure. His first response to the call of God is the very es sence of doubt, “ If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” (Judg. 6:13). When God presses the call to save his nation, Gideon protests: “Wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor . . . and I am the least in my father’s house” (v. 15). When God graciously promises to be with him, Gideon answers: “ Show me a sign” (v. 17). Finally con vinced by the sign graciously given by Jehovah, as his first task he is commanded to throw down the altar of Baal and build one to Jehovah. But he is so fearful of his own household and the men of the city that he works at night under the cover of darkness. And apparently he lets his father face the angry devotees of Baal. Even when the Midianites had gathered against Israel, and the Spirit of God had come upon him in power, Gideon is still frozen with timidity and hesitation. If God will really do the thing He had said, let a fleece be wet with dew while the ground beside it is dry, he asks. “And it was so” (v. 38). But even this is not enough. Once more he pleads, will the Lord give him one more sign? This time let the fleece be dry, and the ground be wet | And once more divine patience grants the desired sign. One might suppose that this would be the end of the matter, but the Lord evidently knew that there were still some lingering doubts in His man, for after giving him all the direc tions for gaining the victory, He says: “But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host [o f M idianites]: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened” (7:10, 11). So he slips in among the Midianites in the darkness and hears one fellow tell a dream which another interprets as meaning that Gideon is to win the battle against Midian. And this at last convinces him that the thing shall be done as God has promised (7:15). 2. In the face of all this fearfulness and trembling on the part of Gideon, God used him to win one of the most notable victories ever won against insuperable odds, and then enshrined his name among the great men of faith in Hebrews 11 (v. 32). The real secret of the victory was not in the strength of Gideon’s faith, but in the power of God who graciously moves mountains in response to faith that is smaller than a mustard seed. It was only divine and sovereign grace that put Gideon in Hebrews 11. He was one of those who "out of weakness were made strong” (Heb. 11:34). Bishop Seybert on one of his long jour neys had to cross a stream when it was much swollen by recent rains. He was warned not to attempt to ford. His reply was: “ I have an appointment across the river, and in the name of the Lord I am going to ride in. The Lord can help me through.” Getting upon his knees on the saddle he ventured on; the horse soon got beyond his depth, and -thus was compelled Golden Text Illustration J oshua 1:9
to swim. T o the astonishment of the spec tators, the noble beast bore him safely to the opposite bank, and Seybert filled his ap pointment that evening in spite of storm and flood.— The Sunday School Times. Why Gideon Won ■ J udges 6:1 to 8:35 Memory Verse: “The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey” (Josh. 24:24). Approach: Today our story tells of what happened about fifty years after the timé of Deborah. Once more the Israelites had
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forgotten about God and had begun again to w o r s h ip id o ls . And once more their enemies c a m e into their land, and in their trouble the chil dren of Israel began to be sorry and to look to God for help. Lesson Story: This time it was a young
man named Gideon whom God chose to deliver them from their enemies, the M id ianites. Every year the Midianites would steal the crops o f the Israelites until the people had no food to eat except barley. Even when God sent Gideon to be their leader, the children of Israel were afraid to fight the Midianites. They had only thirty-two thousand men, and the Midian ites had one hundred thirty-five thousand. But God didn’t need so many to help Him win the battle. He told Gideon to send back all who were afraid, and there were twenty-two thousand of these. This left ten thousand to fight, but God didn’t need this many. He had Gideon send away still more, until only three hundred were left. Three hundred against one hundred thir ty-five thousand! But three hundred were enough if God was on that side. It was a strange kind of battle. Every one of Gideon’s men carried a horn to blow, and in his left hand a torch cohered over by a pitcher. In the night, at a signal they surrounded the enemy, and every one blew op his horn. Then they quickly broke the pitchers with a crashing noise and raised their torches high. How frightened the enemy w as! It seemed as if a huge army was rushing upon them. They didn’t wait to find out, but turned and ran away. Once more God had delivered His people when they had turned to Him for help. 5 -D iv is ion Object Lesson F ixed or F lashing Objects: Tw o extension cords, one small electric light bulb, and one photoflash bulb.
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